The vice president flew in from his home in Wilmington, Del., to this central Texas town of 30,000 for the wedding of press secretary Elizabeth Alexander.

The Texas native was marrying David Wade, chief of staff to Sen. John Kerry. During the 2008 campaign, Wade temporarily served on Biden's staff.

Kerry did not attend the wedding; he was traveling from Sudan where he attended peace talks. The Massachusetts Democrat is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been a foreign policy emissary for Biden, his former committee colleague, and President Barack Obama.